Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka send Arsenal five points clear by beating Brentford

Arsenal's Mikel Merino celebrates with his team mates after scoring.

ARSENAL 2 BRENTFORD 0

MIKEL MERINO was signed from Spain the summer before last as a proven midfield winner who occasionally chipped in with the odd goal for club and country.

Last night he sent his side further clear at the top of the Premier League table by going IN front of his expensive attacking teammates as Arsenal’s leading scorer of the season with his ninth goal.

The 28-year-old emerged as an emergency striker when there was not a fit forward at the club back in February. The surprise switch has worked so well that he kept fit again forwards Gabriel Jesus and the mighty Viktor Gyokeres on the bench for this match.

Fair enough after his crucial equalising goal at Chelsea on Sunday. And It was a calculated move by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, keen to show his relentless squad building now affords him the assets to rest and rotate – even during yet another injury crisis.

Merino’s 11th minute header was finally followed by a 90th minute strike by substitute Bukayo Saka to send the north London title hopefuls five points clear of Manchester City with 14 matches played.

After a hectic three-match week, Arteta rested Eberechi Eze, Saka and Jurrien Timber from his starting line-up. In came fit again captain Martin Odegaard, winger Noni Madueke and right-back Ben White for his first Premier League Keith Andrews made five changes to his Brentford side with star striker Igor Thiago. A five-man defence was selected to soak up the Arsenal pressure with a couple of speedy wingers to catch Arsenal on the counter.

It was Madueke and White who combined to set up Merino’s well-taken early header. Brentford did not allow the early setback to divert them from their task as they restricted Arsenal’s attempt to increase their lead. And it too a save of the season from former Bees keeper David Raya to deny his ex-teammates an equaliser midway through the first half. A corner was pinged in from and Kevin Schade met it with a thundering header which Raya tipped on to his cross bar with a display of lightning reflexes and aerial agility.

Arsenal had been warned.

They responded in the way they like best – by getting back on to the attack. White and Madueke continued to combine with menace on the right and Gabriel Martinelli squandered a good chance to double their lead with Arsenal’s fifth shot of the match inside the opening half hour.

Brentford left back Rico Henry might have relaxed a tad when he saw twin right wing threat Saka and Timber missing from the starting lineup, but their replacements could not have given him much more of a roasting than any other combination.

The Birmingham-born Jamaican international had his moments, though, and twice denied Madueke near-certain goals with brilliant late tackles.

It is an argument worth examining whether or not the leading London sides are hampered by the volume of high-intensity derby matches they have to play each season while their rivals in the north of England just have one or two local clashes. Brentford, however, are possibly the least stressful of Arsenal’s six home derby days of a Premier League season. They have lost to the west Londoners just once since 1938, and that was on the occasion of Brentford’s first ever home Premier League game in 2021.

That said, Brentford are organised, physical and can be destructive from set pieces. Arteta’s rotation relaxation remedy for recent had to be ripped up just before half-time when stand-ion central defender Christhian Mosquera limped off. With injured first choice pairing Gabrial Magalhaes and William Saliba watching from the stands, Timber had to cut short his rest on the bench and cover in a role he has occupied before when playing for Holland.

Andrews sense blood with half an hour to go, and Arsenal far less threatening than they had been at the start. He made a triple substitution in cluing the introduction of his leading scorer Igor Thiago, with a clear message, ‘we are going for this.’ Arteta spotted the activity on the Brentford bench and rapidly got Saka and Eze stripped for action to counter the Brentford boost with a simultaneous upgrade of his own.

Arsenal emerged stronger and it took a trademark high-quality Caoimhin Kelleher save to deny Declan Rice a goal from distance as Merino just failed to knock in the rebound. Arsenal were ahead but. The atmosphere was far from relaxed. Seasoned Arsenal fans have seen them concede late goals in games such as this so many times that their palpable tension was understandable.

Arsenal could and should have added a late second goal before Saka’s injury-time effort which span agonisingly into the goal from an unconvincing Kelleher effort to deny his range shot from just inside the penalty area. Raya was not called into action again and they were ultimately good value for what could prove to be a very important victory.

Arsenal: Raya 8, White 7, Mosquera 6 (Timber 44), Hincapie 7, Calafiori 6, Zubimendi 6, Rice 6 (Gyokeres , Odegaard 6, Madueke 7 (Saka 61), Martinelli 5 (Eze 61), Merino. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Jesus, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly.

Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Van Den Berg, Pinnock 6 (Collins 74), Henry 6 (Lewis-Potter 74), Janelt 6 (Henderson 61), Jensen 6 (Damsgaard 61), Yarmoliuk, Ouattara, Schade 6 (Thiago 61). Subs: Valdimarsson, Onyeka, Arthur, Donovan Ref: Tony Harrington 5